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The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular term. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

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  • CAS PO 398: Feminist Political Theory
    Introduces students to key texts, problems, and debates in western feminist political theory. Students study major feminist thinkers, and explore diverse approaches to crucial topics in the field: such as 'white feminism,' marriage, disability, sex, and pornography. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub area: Ethical Reasoning.
    • Ethical Reasoning
  • CAS PO 399: Data Science for Politics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Any 100-level course in Political Science. - Data science is changing how we understand and study politics, policy, and decision-making. This course introduces students to the fundamental tools of data science, including collecting, modeling, and visualizing data, and how to apply these tools to study political and policy questions. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Quantitative Reasoning I.
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Quantitative Reasoning I
  • CAS PO 409: The Political Psychology of Group-Based Politics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing and one previous course in political science or social psychology; or consent of instructor. - The study of political psychology, integrating political science and social and cognitive psychology as it informs the dynamics of group-based politics, including especially race, gender, class, and political party affiliation. Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and Signed Communication, Research and Information Literacy, Social Inquiry 2.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS PO 491: Directed Study in Political Science
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor, stamped approval, and approval of the CAS Academic Advising Center. - Directed study conducted under the supervision of a faculty member in Political Science.
  • CAS PO 492: Directed Study in Political Science
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor, stamped approval, and approval of the CAS Acade mic Advising Center. - Directed study conducted under the supervision of a faculty member in Political Science.
  • CAS PO 493: Independent Work in Political Science
    Honors in the major directed study.
  • CAS PO 494: Independent Work in Political Science
    Honors in the major directed study.
  • CAS PO 497: Crime and Punishment: Philosophical Perspectives
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPH350) and two other philosophy courses. First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course will explore philosophical questions about the criminal justice system, both in its ideal form and as it exists today. We will examine historical and contemporary writings on punishment, focusing on concepts of punishment, justifications for punishment, preventative detention, the death penalty, and alternatives to punishment. We will also ask how deep historical and contemporary injustices, including institutionalized racism, affect how we should theorize about institutions of punishment, their possible reform, or perhaps even their abolition. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Writing-Intensive Course, The Individual in Community, Social Inquiry II.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Social Inquiry II
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 501: Formal Political Theory
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: PO 111, 141, 151, or 171. Calculus (MA 121,123, or 127) and probabilit y (MA 113, 115, or 213) are helpful, but not required. - Graduate Prerequisites: completion of BU Social Science Math Boot Camp. Some additional famili arity with calculus and microeconomics is helpful, but not required. - A course on formal theory, covering decision theory, game theory, and social choice theory. Topics include spatial models, electoral competition, bargaining, deterrence, and signaling models. Effective Fall 2019, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Quantitative Reasoning II, Critical Thinking.
    • Critical Thinking
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS PO 502: Political Analysis
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (CASPO399) or consent of instructor. Familiarity with algebra and calculus are he lpful, but not required. - The logic and methods of empirical analysis in political science. Introduces research design for a variety of social science applications, as well as data analysis, data visualization and statistical software. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Quantitative Reasoning II, Social Inquiry II.
    • Quantitative Reasoning II
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS PO 503: The U.S. in the Middle East
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: senior standing. - Examines the historical development and present status of the United States' association with the Middle East: American commercial, economic, political, military, and humanitarian interests in the area and their interaction.
  • CAS PO 504: The Politics of Resistance to the Criminal Justice System
    Prerequisites: students must have taken either HUBIC 201 or CASPO 316 to be eligible to take this course. - This course examines the politics of resistance to the criminal justice system from within-system reform to whole-scale abolition, including attempts to develop "alternatives", defined broadly to include prisons, policing, immigration control, and the child welfare system/family policing. Effective Spring 2026, this course fulfills a single requirement in the following BU HUB area: Social Inquiry 2.
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS PO 505: Readings in American Politics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: junior standing or consent of instructor. - Topics vary. May be taken multiple times for credit providing the topic is different.
  • CAS PO 507: Development of American Constitutional Law
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CASPO 111 - A survey of the development of constitutional law and the exercise of power by the U.S. Supreme Court. The course is drawn entirely from decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court and the principal theme is the development of national constitutions and power. Effective Fall 2023, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 508: The Judiciary and Civil Liberties
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - First Amendment rights of speech, press, assembly, religion; rights of defendants in criminal cases; and the constitutional protection of racial minorities. Supreme Court decision-making processes and modes of compliance with its decisions are also considered. Effective Spring 2021, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Historical Consciousness.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 510: Representation in Theory and Practice
    Prerequisite: junior standing or above. - What is political representation, and have we achieved representation today? We start this course by reading historical and theoretical arguments on the varied nature of representation. Then, we turn to empirics to understand the state of representation in America today. Effective Spring 2026, this course fulfills a single requirement in each of the following BU Hub areas: Ethical Reasoning, Oral and/or Signed Communication.
    • Ethical Reasoning
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
  • CAS PO 515: Advanced Public Opinion
    Undergraduate prerequisites: CASPO 399. - Seminar on the theoretical underpinnings of public opinion in the United States. How do voters think about politics? How do they come to form their opinions? What causes these to beliefs change? Effective Spring 2025, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Social Inquiry II, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS PO 517: Urban Politics and Policy
    Prerequisites: at least one 100-level and one 300-level PO course, or consent of the instructor. - Explores the impact of American urban politics on the implementation of local policy. Topics include deindustrialization, white flight, neighborhood effects, housing policy, schools, regionalism, and factors that constrain policy-making capacities. Effective Fall 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Writing-Intensive Course, Teamwork/Collaboration.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Teamwork/Collaboration
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • CAS PO 518: Causes and Consequences of Political Segregation in the United States
    This seminar explores how political geography - where different political, racial, economic, and social groups live in relation to one another - shapes U.S. politics. The course covers trends shaping political segregation and its impacts on representation, elections, political campaigns, and polarization. Effective Fall 2024, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: Historical Consciousness, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Social Inquiry II.
    • Historical Consciousness
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Social Inquiry II
  • CAS PO 519: Inequality and American Politics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120) - This course examines the role of income inequality in shaping American politics and policy. Combining research from history, political science, economics, and public policy scholars, we will consider a range of important topics, including inequality in public voice, money and politics, and attitudes towards redistribution. We will apply this knowledge as part of a final paper project in metropolitan Boston. Effective Spring 2020, this course fulfills a single unit in each of the following BU Hub areas: The Individual in Community, Writing-Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy.
    • The Individual in Community
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course

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